Blog post by Haley Stearns, Still Photography '15, FLEFF Blogger, Buffalo, New York

When I first donned by FLEFF Staff t-shirt, I can honestly say I felt a sense of belonging and pride. This took place during my first year of college when I began my FLEFF journey as an intern. Two years later and being a blogger this year has taught me more than I could have expected about the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival and other film festivals in general.

Beginning as a blogger was somewhat of an intimidating experience for me. I had never posted on a blog, let alone conducted weekly interviews before. Being a FLEFF blogger has placed me outside of my comfort zone and forced me to learn different ways of gathering and distributing information. Learning to analyze rather than generalize has been a bit of a challenge for me, but one that I am embracing fully.

In terms of this year’s festival, the theme of dissonance encourages me to not only to embrace discord, but also seek it out. Through this experience, I have witnessed and experienced perspective-altering discussions and interpretations that come from dissonant topics. I used to strive for consonance in my life. Being a part of FLEFF has taught me that dissonance has the ability to play an integral role in developing personal beliefs, attitudes, and perspective.

I’m really looking forward to FLEFF week and being able to experience all of the different events that are planned this year. FLEFF has a remarkable way of connecting the local community of Ithaca, New York to the global world in which we live. Having the opportunity to learn about new ideas, meets new people, and explore different avenues of thought through an international film festival is bound to be incredibly rewarding for all.